How Far From The Water Can I Build My Cottage?

This is one of the most important questions that you should be asking when you are looking to buy property to build a new waterfront cottage.

Every municipality has a different setback from the water for new construction.

Every municipality in Ontario works off the same location no matter how far back they are restricting the building of new cottages. That location is the historic high-water mark. The high-water mark is determined by what the historical level of high water is in your area. Every area can be different. If you are building on the great lakes you would have noticed that they tend to rise and fall up to 4 to 5 feet in less then a 5 year period. That means that sometimes your new cottage will be close to the water where other times (if your waterfront is shallow) the water could be a fair ways away. Every municipality has a different distance from that high water mark.

Finding the historic high-water mark can be done in two different ways depending on the municipality;

1. Hire a surveyor to come in and survey the property. They will be able to determine the high-water mark with the actual elevations and also be able to mark for you the location of the high-water mark and the point that is closest (to the water) that you can build a new cottage on paper or PDF to submit to the township.
2. Some municipalities do not require a survey as surveys can become costly to people, especially in certain remote cottage areas. If you can identify trees that are large enough to be older then the last time the water hit the high-water mark then you can use the ones that are closest to the water as your mark. You do all your measuring from those trees and the local building department will approve it once they either seen the drawing you have done or visited the site to see the stakes and take some measurements. 

There are municipalities in Northern Ontario that still allow you to build cottages within 50 feet of the high-water mark. Where other municipalities in southern Ontario require you to be 100 or even 150 ft from the high water mark.

These setbacks can greatly affect the amount of enjoyable space that you end up with around your cottage. If you cottage is pushed back 150 ft on your lot and you end up near the road then you are kind of defeating the purpose of having a waterfront cottage.

It is easy to find out this distance, either your real estate agent can find out for you or you can make the calls to the local municipalities yourself. The building and planning department will not only be able to tell you the setbacks on the piece of property, they will be able to tell you also what the restrictions are for the size, height and shape of the cottage you are allowed to build on are. That goes for any accessory buildings that you want to construct like garage's, bunkies or storage sheds.

The only way that you can build closer to the water then the municipal setbacks is to buy a piece of property that already has a cottage on it. Most municipalities will allow you to replace an older cottage with a new one and place it in the same place as the existing cottage even if it violates the setbacks from the high-water mark.

Before you make that offer make sure you do your due diligence.

Rob Abbott
Great Lakes Custom Homes

Is Stone More Expensive Then Wood Siding?

The simple answer to that question is "yes".

There are several reasons that stone is more expensive then wood siding or any other exterior material that you want to put on your new home or cottage;

• The actual material is more expensive to buy then wood siding. Stone has to be quarried, that means that it can only be taken out of the ground once and it has to be done with explosives and or heavy equipment. Where wood siding is made from Quebec pine and can be re-harvested every 20 years or so and can be handled with smaller equipment. 
• Stone is labour intensive to work with as it is heavy and requires either a piece of equipment or several strong backs to move it around a jobsite.
• There is a shortage of good qualified stone masons in southern Ontario. This means that to find a mason that will do a high end superior job will cost you more money as they are usually in high demand, they usually have a waiting list.
• Most stone is not uniform. Stone is usually blended with different shapes, colours and types of stones to create a pattern or non pattern that is appealing to the eye. This takes time to layout on the ground before it can be installed, this process requires you to handle the stone more then once which costs more time.
• You have to prep the wall with either rain screen or wire mesh or both. These products and the time it takes to install them drive the price of the installation higher.
• Usually shipping of stone material is expensive as it is heavy and quarries are far away from most build sites.
• When installing stone you must use scaffolding whenever you get above or near the workers head height. The assembling of scaffolding is time consuming costly work.
• Stone is a forever product, as long as it is installed properly, you should have little to no maintenance going forward as stone does not rot and insects do not eat it like they do with wood products.

One thing about building a new home or cottage in the Bruce Peninsula is that the quarries for most of the stone that you will want on the outside of your home is located there. That will cut the shipping cost of the stone down to a minimum. 

In a world that wants you to buy local as much as possible, buying quarried stone for your home that is from the same area is a good thing for you and the local economy.

When setting your house budget if you are looking to have stone installed on the outside you will want to add some more monies so that you do not end up with sticker shock.

Rob Abbott

President

Great Lakes Custom Homes

Now's The Time To Start Planning Your New Cottage

You might look out the window and see snow banks, the radio is telling you about all the closures, your new cottage is probably the last thing that is on your mind. But now is the time to start the planning process, now is the time to start thinking about building it.

When the weather is ugly and the world is white that is the best time to start planning for your new cottage build. If you start your planning now you will be ready when the white stuff melts and cottagers start to return to cottage country.

If you start to talk to contractors now they will be able to direct you to the appropriate architect or draftsmen, your plans are the first thing you will need before you can do anything (as long as you already have a piece of property to put it on). 

Plans are important, plans are the only way for you to get a proper, accurate quote for your new cottage.

You don't have to wait until your plans are finished to find yourself a contractor, you can select your contractor before you have your plans finished. Selecting your contractor is actually more important then selecting the proper person to draw your new cottage. 

The most important thing about hiring a contractor is that you trust them. You are going to entrust this person with one of the biggest investments of your life and you are going to have to work closely with them, that means that the two of you better get along. Add in the distance, most people having a cottage built do not live near the build site so they have to rely on their contractor to send them updates and pictures as the project progresses.

You want to hire a contractor that you can trust, a contractor that knows what they are doing and has the ability to help you organize yourself. When building a new custom cottage you will have to make decisions all the time. Even if you have planned well there will always be things that the contractor will want your feedback on, that's what makes it custom. Your cottage should be as unique and special as you are and to get that means that you will have to make a lot of decisions. If your contractor is well organized then he will be able to ask you questions in advance of needing to know them. Some of the questions can be answered over the phone or via email and some of the questions you as the homeowner are going to have to come up to the build site and see for yourself. That means that the two of you will have to schedule meetings in advance so that there is as little pressure put on you to make a decision as possible.

When starting down that process of building a new cottage make sure that you get someone to draw you proper drawings and then find that right contractor. The earlier you can do that the better prepared everyone will be for the spring thaw when you want to start building.

You don't want to be that person that is calling contractors in the late spring trying to get them to meet you and price your project. A lot of contractors will be booked by then and you will have less variety of companies to choose from. The earlier you can start the better off you will be.

If you have any questions you can email me at greatlakescustomhomes@gmail.com

Rob Abbott

Great Lakes Custom Homes